Wildfire’s ravages
A woman (center) who asked not to be identified is comforted Thursday as she sees what’s left of her home in Redding, Calif., after it was destroyed by a wildfire. Firefighters had some success Thursday in keeping flames away from heavily populated areas of Northern California, where more than 1,000 homes have been burned.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. — Firefighters battling blazes throughout Northern California had some success keeping flames away from heavily populated areas Thursday and made progress containing a blaze that already destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
One of the fires moved deeper into the Mendocino National Forest, “an area with some hunting cabins and some private property but no towns,” Lake County Sheriff Lt. Corey Paulich said.
Still, just a month into the budget year, California has already spent more than one-quarter of its annual fire budget, at least $125 million, state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Mike Mohler said.
After years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat, immense tracts of forests, chaparral and grasslands have become tinder that allows even a small spark to explode into a devouring blaze, authorities said.
“We’re being surprised. Every year is teaching the fire authorities new lessons,” Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters Wednesday. “We’re in uncharted territory.”
More than 13,000 firefighters are battling fires with the help of crews from as far away as Florida, but Brown repeated predictions from fire officials that California can expect a future of devastating fires, in part because of climate change.
“People are doing everything they can, but nature is very powerful and we’re not on the side of nature,” Brown said.
The largest blaze burned is in the Redding area, north of Sacramento. Six people, including two firefighters, have died, and the fire has destroyed 1,060 homes and nearly 500 other buildings, making it the sixth-most-destructive wildfire in California history, officials said.
Tens of thousands of people remain under evacuation orders. However, authorities who had feared more casualties said all of those who had been reported missing have been located.
The fire, which is nearly twice the size of Sacramento, was only partially contained after more than a week.
“Unstable conditions, shifting winds, steep terrain and dry fuels continue to challenge firefighters,” a state fire update warned.
At least three new fires broke out Wednesday in the Sierra Nevada region, including a blaze in Placer County that had consumed 1½ square miles of land.
North and east of San Francisco, two wildfires that began Tuesday near the communities of Covelo and Yuba City burned through grass, brush and timberlands. The fire near Covelo prompted evacuation orders for about 60 homes in the farming and ranching area on the edge of the Mendocino National Forest.